censorship cont....

[John Dougill]

Max Bliven writes 'That' all I can
really say. I mean, how well do Japanese films reflect Japanese society?'

My own impression is that there is a a far wider gap between reality and
fantasy in Japan than in the West.  Presumably this is because the films
and manga etc. act as a safety-valve for an extremely conformist and
repressive society.  One certainly sees more gratuitous violence, rape and
sex on tv and elsewhere here, while at the same time everyday life is
tightly regulated.  As Max Bliven noted, the sexes often occupy separate
spaces in reality, while engaging in SM activities in fantasy.

Based on the above, I have always thought that the arguments of puritanical
Westerners to be misguided in their clamour to close down Japanese
pornographical expression, since by shutting down the safety-valve, the
effect might well be to increase sexual violence in reality - to American
levels for example.

Best regards
John Dougill
Kyoto